8.

Madara's eyes watched the gruesome scene that unfolded in front of him. Every person near him could feel the raw, cold rage oozing from him.

No one dared to utter a word, eager to let Madara be the first to speak. The Uchiha men who were transporting and protecting the wagon had their throats cut through, hung up on trees like decorations, a rope around one of their legs. What made the blood of any Uchiha freeze were the victims' empty eye sockets.

The scene reeked of blood and the smell of rotting bodies, usually reserved for battlefields. The birds were already circling in the sky, waiting until the pesky back-up would leave them to dine. Little did they know that the poor men were to be transported back.

"What are you waiting for? Take them down!" Madara barked to the men behind him, making them jump before they scuffled over to the tree to take the men down.

For the first time in weeks, Izuna's fake smile was wiped from his face, for even he was beyond furious. Honour, keeping face and the safety of the clan were his prime concerns and some group of strangers managed to undermine them all.

Madara walked forward to the weaponry wagon and pulled the doors open. His eyes scanned over the supplies with a deepening frown.

Izuna noticed the look on Madara's face and hurried to him. He took one glance at the inside of the wagon and frowned.

"It seems like there's nothing missing here..." He mumbled, letting the message sink in and pondering about the different reasons. Izuna's eyes moved to Madara's hands that were squeezing the steel doors hard. He could already see his brother's hands moulding the metal between his fingers like clay.

"We have to get the bodies away from here and give them a proper funeral. I'll ask them to send men here to get the supplies." Izuna said and walked away to issue the orders. Nearly all the bodies were taken down and lined up on the ground, side by side with their eyes closed respectfully, each of them clutching a blade on their chest.

"I want some men here to deliver the weaponry and come back to deliver the bodies to the families!" Izuna said to the men who were there, with much more benevolence than Madara. All of them hurried to the wagon to transport it to the compound.

Izuna walked back to Madara who was standing near the bodies, examining their hands.

"How is it possible that those men were killed like that? There are some very powerful warriors here and their hands aren't marred. They didn't put up a fight and no Uchiha goes down without one unless they are hindered," he mumbled quietly to himself, making sure not to alarm anyone nearby.

Madara simply couldn't believe that the men would just allow themselves to be killed like that. Izuna's expression had remained the same for the last couple of hours, a rare occurrence.

"They had to be drugged, or put under some genjutsu. There's no other logical explanation." Madara continued his ponderings.

"Why would they kill the men and leave the supplies untouched? They weren't trying to resupply themselves, so they weren't random rascals, and they weren't trying to undermine us because they still would've cleared the cart otherwise."

Madara straightened up and glanced over his shoulder briefly to Izuna, "It's a warning. If it were a robbery gone wrong then they wouldn't have taken the time to gouge out the men's eyes and hang them up." Madara paused for a moment. His fists clenched as his gaze lingered on the men who lay dead in front of him. Good men, with wives and children.

"This is just pure mockery." He pressed through gritted teeth, hands shaking from fury.

It was quite dark outside and both of them stayed fully alert. They couldn't leave the sight because that would leave the bodies unprotected from the birds and bandits.

Izuna frowned, rubbing his chin as an idea struck him, "They might've taken the eyes for information...Do you think it was the Senju clan, perhaps?" Izuna asked Madara. He frowned and shook his head.

"We're at peace with them currently, but if they broke it then we have the every right to go and attack them without a warning, but I would not risk that on a mere assumption that our old rivals are breaking the truce. The Senju has obtained information about the Sharingan in the past." Madara's voice trailed off, leaving Izuna to think on his own.

"You mean in that war a few years ago? About a dozen bodies were missing eyes and it was quite clear that Senju took them, even if they denied it. This has to be someone new, someone who hasn't got much experience with us."

Izuna sighed and looked at the sight around him. The forest still had to heal the rope marks on the branches before this atrocity could be put behind them.

"Maybe the men got too relaxed...We need the medics look over their bodies before we can allow them to rest. I doubt that Senju did this. They are too honest to lead such a stealthy attack, not to mention that they wouldn't have strung up the bodies, unless someone not too major picked a fight with them. That could prove to be problematic." Izuna continued.

Madara looked at the sky and it pained him to admit his laxness. This was not a good start to his rule; it was his job to restore the faith of the people.

"We mustn't let this slip out. Clans might join forces and attack us once they find out that someone is challenging us. We must notify everyone to be extra vigilant. I don't want any more casualties." Izuna nodded and crossed his hands on his chest.

"We need to find every clan who could pose a threat to us and compare their abilities to this...but unless the medics discover some anomaly this will prove fruitless."

Madara closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before responding.

"If you weren't my brother, I'd smash your scull." He said calmly, every word dripping of anger and venom. Izuna's head tilted to the side and a smile crept on his lips.

"Well I guess I'm very lucky in this case. Though your reasoning doesn't make much sense."

"I'm starting to doubt your sanity, dearest brother."

Yuna woke up startled when she heard the door slammed shut. The room was dim, still veiled in the late night darkness, but she recognized the person to be Madara. She straightened up in bed and held the covers close to her. It wasn't a tempting option to leave the warmth just to risk being lashed out on.

It didn't seem like Madara even acknowledged her presence. He walked across the room like she was a shadow.

Madara stopped on half way before turning to Yuna. She couldn't make out his face.

"Be careful from now on. Uchiha is targeted by someone we don't know." Madara's voice sounded calm, almost polite even. Yuna's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't see the smirk that appeared on Madara's lips.

With just a split second he was in front of Yuna. Her back was pressed tightly against the wall. The tips of Madara's long hair touched Yuna's shoulder. She felt almost embarrassed because her heart was racing.

"Unless you know anything about it..." He suggested, his sweet voice trailing off slowly. It left a bitter taste in Yuna's mouth. Madara's head tilted to the side.

"Well? Do you know who could be responsible?" He asked, slowly getting impatient. Yuna could almost hear an imaginary clock ticking away the seconds until Madara would unleash his fury. The second time his question sounded serious, not simply a jab.

She bit her lower lip before forcing her face calm. Madara was simply testing her and falling for something that simple was pathetic. She had to clear her head and think tactically, like a ninja for a few seconds.

"Senju clan could've done it maybe considering your constant rivalling? If it wasn't Senju then the possibilities are endless. It's hard to give an assessment without ever seeing the crime scene."

The Uchiha were quite widely targeted, but there were just a few clans who would actually have the power and courage to mess with the Uchiha clan, because they weren't famous for showing mercy.

The smirk dropped from his lips and he rolled on his side of the bed, resuming his normal brooding demeanour. Madara didn't even bother to take off his clothes of weapons, though the weapons were starting to bug him a little bit already, similar to sitting on a chair while you're wearing pants with some metal decorations on the back.

Yuna didn't sense any danger oozing out from Madara, only a healthy level of annoyance so she took a deep breath in, bracing herself for the possible outcomes. She could deal with healthy levels of annoyance.

"Could you tell me what happened?" Yuna asked.

It seemed fair enough that since he already woke her up he could answer her questions. Madara's eyes were half closed but they moved to Yuna but only for a second. She didn't see it happen. Madara sighed and rested the back of his hand on his forehead.

"Our supply caravan was attacked and the men guarding it were killed. The bastards took their eyes and hanged the bodies on the tree branches. They left our supplies untouched so we assume that it was a simple warning. An interlude for what's to follow." Madara's tone sounded nonchalant to Yuna, but she didn't question or judge him for that. Simply because Madara didn't kneel on the ground and scream in anguish didn't mean that he had forgiven the culprits.

Oh no, he was already hatching the many pleasant ways of torture for them, using only the Sharingan. Break their minds first, and when they are just starting to believe that it is all over, destroy the physical bodies. One after another.

She sighed and lied back down from her sitting position; womanly intuition sensing what sinister thoughts was Madara thinking. The woman pulled the blanket up to her chin and stared at the ceiling, searching for words to say.

"I'm sorry. I hope that they can at least have a proper funeral." She mumbled. Madara looked at her face, delicately taking in every little muscle, finally deciding that her compassion was earnest and not a way to get on his good side.

"They will have a proper funeral. I will make sure of that." Madara's voice was almost a whisper. A smile appeared on Yuna's lips and she turned to Madara.

"If you leave the bad temper aside...you're not half bad." She stated. Madara's slender eyebrow rose but Yuna didn't take notice. She turned her back to him and closed her eyes.

"Good night Madara."

He merely patted her shoulder awkwardly and resumed his ponderings, trying to figure out his next move. After all, the night was still young…well not really, but he never imagined that his wedding night would be reduced to something so morbid.

Edited!